It had been over a week since Dialga and Palkia stormed the Tower of Justice. Shaymin had recovered not too long after her beating, but even so, she refused to rest after she heard the dragons had travelled through time. While she was uncertain if she could actually find them, Palkia had revealed how their entire plan was to wipe out all heroes during a time when powerful fighters like the Ultra Beasts would never dream of fighting for the side of good. There was no way the hedgehog could just sit back and ignore this, even if her efforts were meaningless.
Although in the end, her contribution went as far as simply sitting around in the lab and watching the scientists at work. After all, while she may have known how to run a government, she had no clue how to open up a wormhole.
A cross between a rabbit and a ram named Indeedee was currently hard at work along with many others when Shaymin approached her from behind and asked, "So, how's it coming along?" the bunny ram sighing, "Oh my god, how many more times are you going to ask that!? We're doing the best we can! Building a time machine and figuring out where they went isn't exactly easy!"
The hedgehog whimpered, "I'm sorry. I'm just so on edge," only for Indeedee to turn, give her a light smile and reply, "Look, it's okay. Honestly, I'm just happy to see you show this much concern. Up until now, I've always thought of you are some sort of psychopath who bribed her way into this position."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Shaymin remarked when suddenly, another bunny ram named Iessan gasped, "I think I've found a solution! But it will require a rare mineral called Jikan! It's located on an unnamed planet located between Jupiter and Saturn. We'd need someone with great resolve to-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Shaymin sighed, "I'll take the fastest vessel we've got," Iessan staring wide-eyed and gasping, "Hold on! Look, much like Indeedee here, I greatly appreciate how much you're willing to help, but we can't send you out! What if you die in space!? A trip to Earth is one thing, but a trip beyond Jupiter?"
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" the hedgehog remarked, "That's, like, two planets I have to pass," the male bunny ram about to retort only to blink and shrug his shoulders. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had no argument.
And so, Shaymin entered a vessel that was just big enough for a few people. And while she had assured them they would not need this, the scientists implored her to take a team with her to guarantee her safety. After all, she had been horribly wounded by Dialga and Palkia, so this seemed necessary.
Indeedee made sure to give her a picture of what the mineral looked like. And she could not help but feel a tad ashamed of herself when Shaymin immediately noticed that it looked like an egg timer, something no one else had spotted.
Shortly after she took off with her small team, she blinked and uttered, "Oh, I get it now. Jikan's Japanese for time!" giggling, "Maybe we should name the planet after the mineral," the others staring at her before one uttered, "Wow, that's actually a good idea."
Sure enough, it had not been easy to obtain Jikan. Not only was it surprisingly rare, which made Shaymin rethink naming the planet after it, but all of it had already been collected by the planet's king, a purple dragon with an abdomen similar to that of a hornet named Naganadel. And despite the hedgehog having explained how they needed it to save the entire hero population from extinction, the dragon refused to hand any Jikan over to her unless a member of her team defeated him in combat.
In the end, the others were far too frightened, thus Shaymin stepped in to challenge him. It was a long and intense match with the hedgehog taking in many strikes, but in the end, she proved to be a far bigger threat than expected. Not only did she have some impressive skills, but she also felt like she had to make up for her loss to Dialga and Palkia, so she was putting in two hundred percent.
As such, Naganadel ultimately forfeited the match and handed the Jikan over to her. Needless to say, she could not have been more grateful while her team was simply shocked that she had actually pulled this off.
Later, back on Earth, Vaporeon was in the midst of a sparring match with Scorbunny in the back yard while Rillaboom and Bailey watched. Drizzile would have been there as well, but he and Allie were currently out on a date.
Both heroes were trading blows with the rabbit sending a roundhouse forward only for the fox to block it with a swipe of her tail. Both distanced themselves from one-another and took many deep breaths before Vaporeon smirked and stated, "I'll admit, you really are significantly better than the first time we fought. But just you wait. This'll turn out exactly like it did before."
"We'll see about that!" Scorbunny squealed before dashing toward Vaporeon who readied herself to counter.
Rillaboom simply folded her arms and said, "With how seriously they're taking this, you'd swear this wasn't a sparring match," Bailey nodding before she felt her phone vibrate. She then took it out of her pocket and sighed, "Great, I have to work the night shift. Apparently, Kelsey fell down the stairs at home and broke her ankle."
"Ouch," the gorilla uttered only for the tan woman to sigh, "If I know Kelsey, I can guarantee she's faking it. She does this every time she has a night shift, and because she's best friends with the morning supervisor, they never expect her to give them a doctor's note."
Rillaboom blinked and said nothing while Scorbunny slid toward Vaporeon with her foot outstretched. However, the fox was ready for this, thus she leapt over the incoming kick and prepared a counterattack. Unfortunately for her, though, it seemed as if Scorbunny saw this coming when she performed a handstand, launched herself into the air and wrapped her legs around the fox's waist.
She lit her feet on fire and leaned back ninety degrees, Vaporeon's eyes wide with shock when Scorbunny exclaimed, "ASTEROID FRANKENSTEINER!" ramming the fox's skull into the ground.
Normally when Scorbunny used a slam move, it took a great deal of energy out of her, so she very seldom used them. But since this was a sparring match, she saw no need to be extra careful, and since she did not have to flip the full one hundred and eighty degrees like she usually would with this move, it required only half the strength it should have taken to pull off anyway.
Even so, it seemed to have worked as Vaporeon lay on the surface for exactly ten seconds. And while she managed to sit upright after that, she realized it was too late when Rillaboom rose her arm in the air and stated, "And Scorbunny is our winner!"
Bailey clapped with a big open-mouth smile before rising to her feet and sighing, "Sorry to run, guys. I gotta get a lot of extra sleep in," heading into the house so she could exit out the front.
Rillaboom gave a light wave while Scorbunny walked over to Vaporeon and uttered, "Oh, hey, are you okay?" She held out her hand while the fox stared at it blankly. A part of her did not want to accept her kind gesture as she saw it as pity, but she knew better than to assume such a thing about Scorbunny.
With that in mind, she took a deep breath and took her hand, allowing the rabbit to help her up. After that, Scorbunny grinned childishly and squealed, "Well, look at that! I actually won!"
Vaporeon forced a light smile and chuckled, "Yeah, you did. But to be fair, I was holding back since, you know, this isn't an official match. I practically let you win."
Scorbunny blinked and nodded, replying, "Yeah, I figured as much. Come on, let's go inside. I feel like making salmon!" Vaporeon's smile now more legit as she sighed, "Well, it is only four, but yeah, salmon sounds nice."
While Rillaboom was glad to see Vaporeon take her loss well, she had detected a slight hint of negativity earlier. Though at the same time, she could not help but wonder if it was worth bringing up. Whatever the case, she figured it hardly mattered since it seemed to leave almost right away.
Meanwhile, Drizzile and Allie were out at a French restaurant for dinner. The chameleon picked up a snail and ate it before asking, "So, what kind of cake do you want?" Allie biting into a stuffed squid before blinking and replying, "Oh, you mean for our wedding. Come on, you know we still have a little over four months to prepare."
"Yeah, I know," Drizzile sighed, "I just want it to be perfect, you know?" He then took hold of Allie's hands and looked deep into her eyes with a slight look of desperation.
Allie stared for a few seconds before breaking out into hysterics and scoffing, "Oh my god, you are just adorable!" pinching his cheek, "Well, alright, if it means so much to you, I'd really like vanilla. And maybe we could decorate it with some marzipan flowers and chocolate frosting."
Her mouth started to drool while she thought about it, thus Drizzile reached over and wiped it off with his napkin and replied, "Well, then, I'll make sure that's what you get," his cheeks bright pink while he sighed, "I still can't believe it. I mean, seriously, up until almost three years ago, I was such an outcast, and here I am discussing wedding plans."
Allie giggled before he took her hand and sighed, "But seriously, Allie, I know I've said this probably hundreds of times by now, but thank you so much. If it hadn't been for you, I'd probably never be where I am today."
Allie smiled sweetly and leaned in for a kiss when suddenly, both were interrupted when they noticed a news report from Hero Planet. Shaymin sat behind a desk and said, "Attention, everyone. We have been facing a serious crisis for the last nine days, or maybe it was ten. I don't know, but I just want to let you all know that there is no need to panic."
Drizzile blinked and uttered, "Well, good to know whatever problem this is has been fixed," only to be proven wrong when Shaymin continued, "Now, the problem has not been fixed yet, but we have found a solution. See, two extremely dangerous criminals have escaped into the past. Their plan is to wipe out the entire hero population during a time when there didn't exist anyone powerful enough to take them down. Considering we have not had any changes to the present, we can only assume that their plan has not worked yet. That is why we have constructed a time machine to go back to whatever era they're currently in."
Everyone in the restaurant was beyond intrigued by this. However, Drizzile knew things would not be as simple as just leaving things to the government when the hedgehog explained, "Now, of course, I will be heading to the past. I know I'm endangering myself, but back in the twenty tens, it became perfectly legal for a chairperson to put him or herself in danger for the safety of others. But even so, I will humbly admit that I do need help for this mission. I know it's hard to believe, but I've fought these two once before and suffered defeat at their hands."
Drizzile gulped nervously and tensed up. Allie saw this and rested her hand against his. And of course, Rillaboom, Scorbunny and Vaporeon all saw this report on the gorilla's tablet while they were in the midst of preparing their salmon.
The fox gulped and thought, 'I just know it. She's probably gonna pick me and the others to go with her. I can totally help her. I just know it.'
"Unfortunately, the time machine can only fit eight people at once," Shaymin stated, "I was considering bringing the Ultra Beasts with me since Buzzwole and Nihilego defeated these two ten years ago. Unfortunately, they're not as strong as they used to be. Just like everyone else from their generation, they've gotten weaker overtime."
The hedgehog refused to point out how Buzzwole and Pheromosa had helped her get Zacian, Zamazenta and Eternatus to surrender. While that should have been impressive, all three gods had fought them at a fraction of their real strength and had not really been defeated, so it was not that big of an accomplishment. Not only that, but both were not quite as strong now as they had been at that time.
It seemed as if Vaporeon's assumption was correct to a certain degree when Shaymin stated, "Anyway, I'm not too worried. Luckily, today's heroes have proven themselves to be extremely competent. Of course, I'd be a fool not to include the world champion, so I'm totally gonna make, er, I mean ask Drizzile to come along."
The chameleon blinked and stared at the screen blankly. Before, he would have gladly accepted such a task, but with his wedding coming up, he could not help but wonder if now was a good time. However, he realized this was much more important when Allie smiled reassuringly at him and nodded. After all, if the hero population was wiped out, there would be no wedding and he would not sit back and pray that someone else could fix that for him.
"Along with him, I feel it only fair to invite Scorbunny and Rillaboom along," Shaymin added, "After all, those three work really well together. As for the other four, well, we'll have to wait and see. But for now, everyone relax. We're on the job."
And so, the broadcast ended as many people felt relieved to know that their three best heroes would go to the past to fix all of this. But even so, no one knew whether this would be difficult or not. On one hand, it seemed like they only had two villains to worry about, but who was to say Dialga and Palkia had not already managed to amass an army of villains from the past to assist them? For all they knew, this whole ordeal could very well turn into an all-out war.
Either way, Rillaboom grinned with her fists up and exclaimed, "Hell yeah! I'm ready for this!" Scorbunny skipping back and forth on one foot at a time while squealing, "She doesn't even need to ask us! Of course we'll do it!"
However, Vaporeon simply stared blankly at the screen and uttered, "She didn't mention me," Scorbunny patting her on the shoulder and replying, "She probably just chose us because we technically beat those three gods. I'm sure as long as you volunteer, she'll let you come with us."
The fox bit her lower lip before she nodded her head and sighed, "Yeah, you're probably right," a big grin on her face while she clenched her fists, "Whoever these two criminals are, I'll kick the shit out of them," Scorbunny and Rillaboom staring at her until she uttered, "Oh, I mean we'll kick the shit out of them."
Now Rillaboom could definitely tell something was up. But at the same time, she had a feeling Vaporeon did not wish to talk about it yet, thus she took a deep breath and turned off her tablet.
Of course, Morgrem and Rolycoly had seen the report as well, the goblin grinning and exclaiming, "We are totally volunteering for this!" the golem nodding and saying, "Yeah. There's no way these two monsters are gonna wipe us out of existence."
Morgrem blinked and uttered, "But wait, isn't your mom a villain?" the golem replying, "Oh yeah. I guess I'll still be here," stroking his chin before tears rolled down his cheeks before he clasped onto Morgrem's hands and sniffed, "But yours aren't! That means we would never meet because you wouldn't exist!"
Both held each other in a tight embrace and released tears while up on Hero Planet, Shaymin grinned and folded her arms behind her head, saying, "Yep, things are looking up."
"Um, ma'am, with all due respect, why didn't you show a picture of the two culprits or reveal their names?" a nearby staff member enquired before Shaymin blinked and groaned, "Shit, I knew I forgot something." She then shrugged her shoulders and added, "Oh well. I'll just let the volunteers know who to look for. That way, we can split up to cover more ground."
And so, the following morning, Shaymin came to Earth in a different kind of vessel. This one was fairly big and shaped like a perfect sphere. Of course, she landed in Edmonton and was met by a big news crew. But as much as she liked the coverage, what mattered most was that the heroes of Edmonton had also arrived.
Thus she grinned and squealed, "Hey, you all made it!" running over to Drizzile and shaking his hand while he blinked and forced a light smile.
Of course, the human women were there to see their friends off as were Allie's parents, Brian and Wendy. Along with them were Bruce and Carl, a tall burly man and a rather scrawny one respectively. Both of them happened to be Bailey's fathers.
"Just to make sure, you all realize how serious this is, right?" Shaymin enquired before Scorbunny nodded and replied, "Of course," Rillaboom adding, "I'm also gonna take a wild guess and say we probably shouldn't tell anyone we're from the future, right?"
Shaymin blinked and uttered, "Oh, I see you're ahead of the game on this one. But yes, it is imperative that no one in the past find out where we came from. If they find out that we're from the distant future, the results could be catastrophic."
She then looked over the trio and said, "Wow, you guys look just as strong as ever. By the way, Scorbunny, good job on your recent victory," the rabbit blushing lightly and chuckling, "Oh, well, thank you," Vaporeon biting her lower lip and hoping Shaymin would not bring up her loss.
"Anyway, we won't head off until we have exactly eight people with us," Shaymin stated before she turned to the other three heroes and enquired, "So, um, do any of you wanna come?"
Vaporeon formed a big smile and stepped forward, saying, "I'm more than up for this task!" before she gave an army salute.
Shaymin held her hand up to her chin and nodded her head before she said, "Yeah, you'll do nicely," Vaporeon blinking and uttering, "Wait, that's it?"
She then shook her head and took a deep breath. If anything, she was just glad that Shaymin had agreed to let her come along. This at least gave her a chance to prove that she was worthy of this task.
Morgrem grinned wide and exclaimed, "Count us in, too!" resting a hand on Rolycoly's shoulder. The golem nodded before Geneva gave him a peck on the cheek and said, "I know you'll be awesome."
Rolycoly blushed and rubbed the back of his head before Rillaboom turned to face the two. She then bit her lower lip and approached them, saying, "As much as we'd love to have the two of you, I feel as if at least a couple of us should probably stay behind to guard Edmonton, you know, just in case."
"Not to mention their track record is mediocre at best," Shaymin grumbled in a voice quiet enough for the others not to hear. And as much as the goblin and golem hated to admit it, Rillaboom did have a point. After all, if they could stop Dialga and Palkia, it would be nice for everyone to come back to a bright future.
But just as Morgrem and Rolycoly were about to agree to this, a male Romanian voice suddenly entered the area and said, "Don't worry, sis. We'll take care of Edmonton while you're away."
Both heroes turned to see a tall green goblin standing there along with a sea lion. The green goblin was Morgrem's brother, Grimmsnarl and the sea lion was Samurott.
"Bro!" Morgrem squealed before she leapt toward her brother. Both held each other in a tight embrace and twirled around before the red goblin asked, "When did you guys get here?"
"We just arrived at the airport an hour ago," Samurott replied, "We booked a flight as soon as we saw the report. We figured all six of you would wanna go to the past."
But while Morgrem was thrilled to hear this at first, her joy became doubt before she sighed, "I dunno, maybe it would be best if you went to the past instead," Rolycoly uttering, "Yeah. To be fair, we're not exactly Edmonton's best."
Grimmsnarl took a deep breath and set his sister down before he rested his hands on her shoulders. He then stated, "Come on, sis, you bested me in combat. Don't you dare tell me you're not fit for the job," Samurott adding, "And besides, Rolycoly, you beat a dragon made entirely out of steel. Anyone who can pull that off is definitely worthy."
Geneva nodded and patted the golem on the back before she said, "He's right. You're amazing, and the others would be lucky to have you along."
She then planted her lips against his, thus he blushed and chuckled, "Well, alright, if you insist."
With that in mind, Morgrem and Rolycoly turned toward their friends with wide grins. As such, the other four heroes smiled wide and shared a big group hug. However, Shaymin looked back and forth between Grimmsnarl and Samurott and uttered, "Are you sure both of you need to stay behind? Because I would gladly bring one of you two along with me."
Grimmsnarl blinked and stroked his chin, saying, "Well, I'm sure one of us alone would be badass enough," only for a voice with a slight Russian accent to state, "It's okay. I wanna go."
Everyone turned toward the source and saw a cyborg made mostly out of liquid metal standing right there. After a few seconds, all six heroes of Edmonton pointed at him and barked, "YOU!"
The cyborg in question was Melmetal, a villain who had once snuck his way into the Hero Olympics in the hopes that he could beat the world's greatest heroes and strike fear across the world. However, while Drizzile was just as shocked as the others at first, he quickly calmed down and approached him, asking, "Did you just say you wanted to help?"
"Yes," Melmetal replied, "Ever since you beat me in the Olympic finals, your words have really resonated with me. You were right. All those people who cheered for me did so because they truly believed I was good. So I'm ready to finally earn respect the right way, and I figure saving the future would be the best step."
While the others were a tad sceptical at first, they slowly started to notice something. Every time they would even come close to Melmetal during the Olympics, no matter how nice he would act, they always got bad vibes from him. This was the first time none of them felt that.
On top of that, aside from Vaporeon, all of Edmonton's heroes had started as villains. As such, they felt it would be hypocritical not to give Melmetal this chance. As such, Drizzile smiled and held out his hand, saying, "Welcome to the team."
After the cyborg shook his hand with gratitude, Scorbunny smirked and slugged him on the arm before saying, "Maybe we can fight again someday, eh? I'll totally pay you back for covering me in spikes," Rillaboom adding, "I've also mastered all of my grass type abilities."
Melmetal rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Oh man, I might not stand a chance against you this time," Vaporeon staring at him briefly before a light smile formed on her face. While she had not entirely gotten over the way he literally crushed her in the first round of the Olympics tournament, she had also given the others a chance.
Morgrem and Rolycoly of course had no complaints either, thus Shaymin nodded and said, "Well, I guess that's settled. I was afraid I'd have to go from country to country looking for volunteers, but this worked out perfectly."
She then lowered her eyelids and uttered, "It worked out too perfectly," before shrugging her shoulders and saying, "I'll give you all a little bit longer to say your goodbyes. Then it's off to the past."
"Thank you," Drizzile replied before he approached Allie and held her in a tight embrace. The two then shared a kiss before the tall woman sighed, "Kick ass like you always do."
"Of course," the chameleon replied with a sweet smile while Rolycoly and Geneva hugged one-another as well.
Rillaboom gave a nice goodbye to the others while Morgrem gave her brother one last hug. And of course, Scorbunny had to give one to every single person seeing them off.
Bruce grinned and patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Do your best out there, alright?" Carl exclaiming, "Yeah, kick their asses!" gritting his teeth and clenching his fists while his muscular husband rubbed his shoulders and sighed, "Calm down, honey."
Brian smiled and said, "I feel safe with all of you fighting for the fate of the world," Wendy adding, "If there's anyone who can take care of these two, it's you guys."
With all said and done, the heroes were finally ready to take off. Thus they all climbed into the vessel, Shaymin taking a deep breath and saying, "Be sure to strap in tight. I have no idea how fast this thing will go."
Drizzile and Rolycoly both gulped nervously and looked at one-another while Scorbunny looked rather excited. But right now, Vaporeon did not even care about travel sickness. She just wanted to defeat at least one of these two villains.
Before Shaymin took off, though, she gave each hero two pictures of the dragons with their names written on them. As such, all seven nodded in understanding. Both dragons certainly looked powerful, but all of them felt like they had dealt with worse.
And with all said and done, Shaymin pulled out a vial that contained a DNA sample extracted from the parts that had been taken from the dragons. She then dropped a sample into a small tube before getting a reading on the time they had gone to. Her eyes widened as she uttered, "Oh, wow. I can't believe of all the years, they went with this one," before taking a deep breath and pressing a big red button.
With that, the vessel floated into the air as a bright light surrounded it. And once it vanished, there was no turning back. All eight heroes were headed to the past, but just which year did Shaymin see on the screen? And furthermore, how had Dialga and Palkia not succeeded in their goal yet?